Ciara Conway (Waterford, Labour)
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What is it going to take? My central point is that if there are 300 people on trolleys in July, one must ask what we face this winter. There has been €135 million in additional funding to deal with the trolley crisis, yet it persists. Mr. O'Brien stated the steps taken did not have the desired impact or were not as far-reaching as he had hoped. What will it take? I am in no doubt but that we have the commitment of the staff, who are under considerable pressure. I do not question their motivation or commitment to the job in hand. The moneys have been made available but I cannot square the circle. Money is being given when sought - it has been asked for a number of occasions in recent years - but we are still facing a very difficult time, first and foremost for patients and their families. The airwaves will be aflood with very sad stories of very sick people. Simple steps, such as general practitioners being allowed to install IV facilities in nursing homes, have still not been taken nationally. It may have happened in certain areas. Very sick old people have to come from HSE facilities to an accident and emergency unit to obtain the service they require. We have been talking about this now for a number of years, yet we have not seen a sea change nationally. I admit and understand there are pilot schemes and that solutions have been trialled but we have not seen the sea change we really want to see for patients and their families as we face a very uncertain winter.